IMAGINE…. An arts business centre dedicated to artists across the board accessible by everyone in every region. You can call anytime with a question about pricing your product on consignment or your HST return. OR you can go the full distance and get someone who really understands your business to help you with your business plan.
Then on a regular basis, say monthly, a new workshop will be offered in your region that might address topics such as Internet Marketing or new accounting and bookkeeping systems for artists. If you miss it because of another commitment – no worry – because you can catch it at another location or on its next cycle. You can book an experienced consultant who understands your business to visit you in your studio for a few hours or maybe even the full day to discuss your business and how you can move it forward.
What will this cost? Because you’re such an important contributor to the economic growth of the region we will ensure that the costs are nominal. Let’s say you become a member of the Arts Enterprise Alliance at an annual fee of $75. Your membership places you on to an online collaborative community with other artists where you can discuss mutual needs and experiences i.e. should I participate in the New York International Gift Show? OR What is the best way to insure my shipments to the USA. Virtual networking is enhanced with face to face networking opportunities quarterly or monthly as need dictates. There you can mingle with other producers who share your interests and concerns.
There would be small fees for services and events. For example, business counseling might cost you $5.00 an hour. Or maybe if that’s still prohibitive we can design a plan that allows you to contribute your work – at full retail value – in exchange for the professional fee. Maybe these creations can be collected and auctioned off at an event to the government agencies that support the Alliance to ensure that our artists are seen and appreciated in those office environments. In 1996 I started the NSCAD Student Art Store. That year our best customer was The Greater Halifax Partnership that purchased $10,000 of student art work that graces their Purdy’s Wharf offices to this day, creating a fabulous environment for workers and visitors alike while it promotes the art college.
Another piece of the Alliance I would love to see is an annual conference for Arts and Business that features the best guest speakers who can present on current topics of interest to our members such as state of the art technology and new trends on the Internet for artists. How about if the conference concludes with a gala dinner and art auction that features the best from the Alliance?
Through the Alliance we are connected with other important organizations for small and arts based businesses. I’m thinking of the Cultural Human Resources Council in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation for Small Business, the ACOA Women in Business Initiative, the Network for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities, local Chambers of Commerce, regional arts councils and of course the Cultural Federations; NSDCC, VANS etc. We would also be linked to federal and provincial trade initiatives and programs designed to increase exports.
Together we could lobby for things such as broadband connections for remote communities (where artists congregate) and incentives for artists in urban and rural development/renewal projects. We can all benefit by creating greater incentives for tourists and visitors from around the province. When artists band together they can do a lot to attract visitors who contribute to the local coffers. Our municipalities need to get on the bandwagon of this reality.
Together we can explore many offbeat marketing opportunities such as renting art to realtors. I met a woman/realtor at a workshop I delivered recently on “How Art Informs Business” who told us that she regularly rented art to place on the walls of the homes she was selling to enhance their appeal.
We can band together on projects in the publishing industry that can lead to more sales and profits for our arts based businesses – books, calendars, boxed greeting cards are obvious examples but when creative minds come together crazy wonderful ideas are formed.
Here’s a thought. What if a group of producers come together to design a full line of products under a singular theme “the sea” for example. With that kind of oomph we can attract some of the top sales agencies to carry the line and sell it into major North American markets.
What about some of the brilliant and retired artists/producers who might be thrilled to share their expertise and mentor someone like you? Through the Alliance we create the critical mass required to make some of these things feasible. And speaking of critical mass, we could have some clout with the powers that be. With a collective voice we can impact political decisions and government based initiatives. Artists have long been sidelined as a curiosity – an entertainment not to be taken seriously – despite all of the economic impact studies that prove our economic worth. Time to end all of that.
Consider the new talent that is coming out of NSCAD and the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and the NSCC system. The Alliance can take these young artists under its wing providing them with an incentive to stay in Atlantic Canada to continue our rich cultural traditions. That’s our succession plan! This generation will also do a lot to connect us to the leading edge of social networking and marketing that’s becoming essential to our businesses.
In the past we’ve been spoken to – now we are spoken with and more so we’re part of a dialogue. As such we have new opportunities to engage and wiki our knowledge and experiences. Who knows better for example, the proponents of the trade mission you are being sold, or the artists that went on it previously?
Individually we can get ahead but collectively we can really prosper!
I plan to move this wish list forward into a formal funding proposal to the powers that be: the Nova Scotia government, ACOA and potential private sponsors. It would be great to get your input so that we can make the Arts Enterprise Alliance a reality in the very near future.
Some great ideas. Something to consider would be the feasibility of providing workshops on-line. The beauty of this is, the workshop is available when the target person is available. As a full-time potter, I don’t have much free time, especially to attend workshops outside my area. However, if there are presentations available on the Alliance website, I can access them when I have the time. Might be a great way to get around our geographical seperation, even though Nova Scotia is not that big, all is relative.
Hey Tim
That’s an excellent suggestion. All of the workshops can also be placed online and archived for regular access. Will work this into the plan.
Wonderful, stimulating ideas Tiiu! This is an exciting initiative. I’ve always believed that artists hold an important, yet often overlooked, key in economic development. Artists are creative thinkers and doers. I’m looking forward to being a part of this Alliance.
My next blog will be about the important economic contribution of creative artists. I’d be happy to include any rants or statistics from you.
Thanks for your support!
Stimulating ideas, Tiuu, that sound great. We can all benefit from outside the box thinking like this, followed by concrete action. Hoping there will be a place for TAMMACHAT in this; many of the same issues that face local artists and artisans face us as fair traders who are working with artisans in Thailand and Laos. You can imagine the barriers that face them; we’re helping to bridge some of the gaps that prevent them from marketing their handmade work more widely.
I imagine that an initiative like this can become a good model for communities everywhere. Your involvement would be hugely beneficial for all the good work you’re doing.
Hi Tiiu, I’d like to subscribe to your blog, but I think you need to make a selection in your preferences to allow it.
Bravo to you, Tiiu!